Freak School
by Hiddengrace
Summary: Young Lily learns that Petunia will not be going to Hogwarts. Bitterness ensues.


_**Ficlet: Freak School: G: No Challenge**_  
**Title: **Freak School  
**Summary: **Lily learns Petunia will not be attending Hogwarts. They fight and Lily throws a tantrum.  
**Characters/Pairings: **Lily Evans, Petunia Evans, 'Mum' Evans  
**Genre: **general?  
**Rating/Warnings: **G  
**Word Count: **698

"Oh, Tuney, it'll be so great! We'll get to meet all kinds of famous people, I bet. Magical people." Lily's voice positively bursts with excitement. She grabbed her letter and fingered the wax seal on the envelope. "Hogwarts," she said with hushed awe.

"I can't wait," Petunia said, mustering up as much false enthusiasm as possible, which was very little. Luckily, her sister was too young and too self involved at the moment to hear it.

"We'll be famous. The Evans sisters!" Lily stared at the letter, reading it for the umpteenth time. "Students may bring an owl, a cat, or a toad," she read. "I want a cat. No, an owl! I know, we'll get one and one and we'll share."

"Hello, girls!" Lily and Petunia's mother opened the door to Lily's room, where they had been playing. The girls gave their mother a cursory hello before going back to their chatter. "Lily, you and I are going on a special trip to go get your wand. We've got to get going. It takes a while to get there."

"I can't wait, mum, Tuney and I are going to have so much fun!"

Petunia rolled her eyes at her mother, who sent her a stern look. "Er, Lily, your sister won't be joining you."

"What? Why? She has to come to get her wand. She can't go to Hogwarts without a wand!" Her wide grin slowly made its way slowly into a pout

"Lily pie, your sister isn't going to Hogwarts. It's only you."

"Only me?" she asked sullenly. Lily was on the verge of a tantrum. Tears were already glittering in her eyes. "I can't go by myself. I won't know anyone. Tuney has to come. Please?"

"Lily," her mother began hesitantly, "she can't go."

"Why not?" a near tears Lily asked.

"I didn't get a letter," Petunia spoke up, bitterly, saddened by her own loss and her sister's. But she couldn't hide it any more. She was tired of playing this game to spare her baby sister's feelings. "Believe me, Lils, if there was anything I could do… but I can't. And I wouldn't go if I could."

"Petunia, that's not nice," her mother cautioned, voice firm.

"I don't care. And I'm tired of pretending I want to go to some freak school anyway."

"You wanted to go," Lily insisted, pouting. "You said!"

"Well, I did, maybe. At first. But I don't anymore. I don't want to go to some freak school a billion miles away to be taught magic tricks. I want to stay here. Have a normal life. Not like that creepy Snape boy from the park" She spat his name with an unusual coldness. "With his dirty hair and awful clothes. Lily, how could you be friends with him?"

"Tuney!" Lily sobbed, "That's not nice. What happened to you? You were supposed to be my friend!"

"I'm not like you, Lily," Petunia scoffed. "Not like you at all. Snape told me."

"What?" Lily snapped, full blown temper in place. "He told you that I was special? That I was magic and you weren't and now you're jealous!"

"Liar!"

"Hey! Hey, Lily, Petunia, that is it! You're sisters, you're not supposed to be fighting like this. I won't tolerate it for one minute. Petunia, go to your room right now. Lily, go get dressed. We're leaving in five minutes."

Both girls just stared. Their mother was always kind, but wouldn't tolerate mean spirited behaviour. "Now!" She roared.

Petunia marched into her room, head held high, while Lily sobbed and sulked. She headed after her sister, who slammed the door in her face. Lily knocked, but was ignored. She wiped her eyes, and all she could say was, "But I don't want to go without you."

"Too bad," Petunia sulked through the door. "Just go. Go off to your special school with your special friends and just leave me alone. You've always been the better sister, the one everybody loves. And I'm just nobody!"

Their mother steered Petunia away from the door, to her room to get dressed. "Come on, love," she said. "Chin up. It's going to be amazing."


End file.
